The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-10-10


contestants were at the point of starting in
good season, as was the Electra, the flag
ship of the New York Yacht Club, with
Committee of Judges on board. At the
time of starting excursion boats and steam
yachts had gathered. At the moment of
starting the Thistle and Volunteer were
southeast of the line and not 800 yards
apart The Thistle was nearer, and went
away on her trip nearly four lengths
ahead of the Volunteer. 1.-The yachts
started as follows: Thistle 10h. 40m. 21s.;
Volunteer, 1Oh. 40m. 5O34. They went over
on the starboard tack and the Volunteer
at once began to outpoint and outfoot her
opponent. The course was north and
northeast for twenty miles to windward,
and return before the wind. The weather.
ing qualities of the yacht were seen at
once. The Volunteer Outpointed the cut
ter by nearly two points, and won the race
by the mastery manner she went to wind
ward The first tack, which was a long
one of about seven miles, decided, vIrtu-
ally, the race. The Volunteer beat to
windward OF the Thistle in way that sat
isfied all spectators, who knew anything
about it, that the American boat would
WIN On each tack that followed the Vol
to lead as we'll. The Volunteer not only
outpointed her rival, but outfooted her as
well. Tack after tack showed up some
thing, and tack after tack showed that the
sIoop was beating the cutter. The VOlun-
teer took five tacks in reaching the outer
mark, and the Thistle required six. Every
time the cutter went about she did it
sooner than the sloop. Careful estimates
of the time each boat took to go in stays
was made, and this was the result in
seconds:
Volunteer, %, %, %, %, 2
Thistle, 20, %, %, 81, %, %.
The wind at the start was blowing 20
miles an hour, and it maintained that We
locity all the way out except during
period of perhaps twenty minutes, when it
let down considerably, during which the
Thistle people claim they were becalmed,
while the Volunteer held wind. Really
both contestants were equally afflicted
Both yachts rounded the outer mark like
this: Volunteer, 2 hours, % minutes, 40
seconds; Thistle, 2 hours, Il minutes, 0
seconds. The yachts set spinnakers coming
home, and the question as to whether the
broad cutter could go fast enough before
the wind to make up lost ground was to be
decided. The Volunteer had the lead fully
two and half miles when the Thistle
rounded, and that was not diminished
The Thistle was the first to take her
spinnaker in, but the Volunteer followed
suit Immediately. The move was occa-
stoned by the fact that neither boat could
make the ightship with the wind aft and
haul up was necessary. On the run home
the wind dropped to ten miles an hour
The steamboats, had much trouble in get
ting back to the finish line IN time to see
the Volunteer successfully defend the
Americas Cup, as most OF them waited to
see the Thistle round the outer mark.
That detained them nearly fifteen min
utes, but once under way for home they
maintained a jolly speed, leaving the
Thistle far astern, They got there III time
to see the American sloop cross the line
winner by II minutes 1917 second, as the
following table shows: